On February 1, 2018 at 02:07 UTC the "Soyuz-2.1a” rocket-carrier was launched from Russian Vostochny Cosmodrome, in the Amur Oblast, in the Russian Far East. The rocket equipped with the “Fregat” upper stage orbited 11 Russian, German and U.S. satellites. The primary payloads were the “Kanopus-V” № 3 and № 4 Earth observation satellites. The two space vehicles, which each weigh about a half-ton, will assist the Russian government in disaster response, mapping, forest fire detection and resource monitoring.